Green Jobs Online Training Course

Welcome to your Green Jobs course. This first week we will use to get familiarized with course content, the online work platform and introduce ourselves.

During this course we hope we can help you to increase your knowledge on "Green Jobs, green economy, just transition and other related issues. Knowledge on these issues can help us assess what policies are needed in order to guarantee the sustainable and just world that we all are fighting for. We hope you find this course useful and its content appealing.

The online course takes approximately 30 hours. Every week a UNIT will be made available at the online platform. Each training UNIT contains video links and exercises.

Go to the website and Log in to the online platform. ** You will receive an from your tutor with your password and user name. Explore the available tools and the Forum. Contact us if you have any problems connecting to the platform.

Unit evaluation: At the end of each unit we will present exercises. Those need to be done and sent to the group. Some exercises will consist of watching videos and/or commenting on them, taking a quiz, or writing 2-3 paragraphs on a given issue. Final task: it will be requested that you write a short essay as your final evaluation. More information on it will be send shortly.

Read the materials. Do proposed exercises and send to group or tutor (Note that some training UNIT:s include powerpoint presentation). Send comments, thoughts and doubts to tutor and/or participants. Course tutor will be available throughout the entire course. Dont hesitate to send questions as well as your suggestions. Engage, engage, engage on online discussions… an online training, or any training is a dialogue.

Online courses have a great advantage: you can plan your own schedule. We suggest you connect to the online course 2-3 times a week. But lets put it this way: the more, the merrier. Please note that this course doesnt require any previous knowledge on green jobs. However, we will provide additional reading suggestions.

1. A world in crisis Social challenges The environmental crisis, much more than the depletion of ecosystems 2. Recognising the limits and the need for a change Improving efficiency Integrating environmental costs into the equation 3. The Green Economy as a pathway to sustainability Guiding principles Enabling conditions for the creation of Decent Green Jobs Regulatory frameworks

4. The South African reality Challenges and opportunities for Green Jobs in South Africa Institutional framework and policy measures for Green Jobs in SA 5. Green Jobs in South Africa Current Green Jobs and potential employment creation data in SA Impacts on employment quality Impacts on gender Skills needed for new jobs 6. A fair distribution of the costs and opportunities: A Just Transition Defining Just Transition Social Dialogue for managing the transition 7. Experiences from SA and other countries: Trade unions and the Green Economy Greening all sectors: Green workplaces committees and representatives Cooperatives and social enterprises for the transition

Week 1- Introduction: 26 Nov–30 Dec Week 2- Unit 1: 3-7 Dec Week 3- Unit 2+3: 10–14 Dec Week 4– Unit 4: 17–21Dec 24 December – 4 January: Holiday Break

Week 6- Unit 5+6: 7–11 Jan Week 7- Unit 7: 14–18 Jan Week 8 & 9- time to elaborate final Project: 21 Jan-1 Feb Week 10- Final comments/doubts and feedback from tutor on Project: 4-8 Feb

On course content

For the 190 million unemployed in the world, and for over 500 million job seekers over the next 10 years, labor markets are vital not only for the production and generation of wealth, but equally for its distribution. Economic action and social policies to create gainful employment are critical for social cohesion and stability. It will be crucial that work is also geared to the needs of the natural environment. Green Jobs can be a bridge between social, economical and environmental policies.

Green Jobs are defined as jobs that... reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels which are sustainable. They contribute to reducing the need for energy and raw material, to avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, to minimizing waste and pollution, and to restoring ecosystem services like clean water, flood protection and biodiversity. Source: Green Jobs: Towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon future.

At the same time, they must also ensure better working conditions and real environmental improvements. Green Jobs must equal decent work and employment and seriously address issues such as poverty alleviation and the protection of the environment. (International Trade Union Confederation)

Climate change may not be the only challenge we face. However, it has the power to exacerbate and accelerate other natural processes that have huge impacts on communities such as: drought, floods, desertification, tornados. So what are some of the solutions and actions taken by trade unions?

Trade unions are already engaged on international, national and regional negotiating processes to put us on a sustainable path. Throughout this course, we will share more on green jobs and green workplaces experiences around the world. In South Africa, for example, you have engaged on designing a Green Economy accord. In Uganda, workers have developed a training material for truck drivers.

Step 1: Fill out the survey Step 2: Introduce yourself Step 3: Watch the video on climate change The next 3 slides will provide you with further information on each step

This survey is of great help for your tutor – that will be able to better assess which themes to boost and which ones should be given extra attention and support. The results you get from this first assessment will not be part of the evalution of your acquired knowledge. Just click on the link below and answer the questions. Follow this link and complete the survey:

Send a message to the online Forum introducing yourself to the group (*your organization, sector, where you live, etc.) If you want, you can add personal interests as well.

m/the-real-talk-no- jargon-guide-to- global- warming?c=ufb1 This straight forward video address: what climate change is and where we are heading if we dont halt temperature rises and change our production and consumption patterns.

Catarina Silveira – course tutor Ana Belen Sanchez – Sustainlabour Project coordinator